Catholic nun detained over girl student’s suicide

An Indian court has remanded a Catholic nun in judicial custody for her alleged role in the suicide of a minor schoolgirl in a central Indian state.

Police in Chhattisgarh state arrested Carmelite nun Mercy on Feb. 7 and produced her before a local court in Ambikapur, a major township in Sarguja district in the state.

Sister Mercy (who goes by one name) was accused of abetting suicide, a crime punishable with 10 years of jail term or life imprisonment.

Her arrest came after the suicide of a Grade 6 girl student of the Carmel School in Ambikapur on Feb. 6 night. The nun teaches in the school.

The student, who committed suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan in her home, accused the nun of torturing her in a suicide note. Police recovered the note.

“It is not yet clear whether the suicide note is original. But the allegations against the nun are false,” said Father Lucian Kujur, director of education in Ambikapur diocese.

It is true the nun had taken the girl's identity card and asked her to bring her parents the next day as she was absent from classes, the priest said.

“She along with four other girls remained in the toilet instead of attending the classes,” the priest said.

“When the nun noticed them, she collected their identity cards and handed them over to the office,” the priest added.

Sister Mercy is not involved in teaching the girl and there were no such complaints against her, the priest added. More than 8,000 students study in the school

Right-wing activists protested in front of the school, demanding the arrest of the nun and the principal.

“School is currently shut and the police force is deployed. We hope it will be reopened soon,” said Father Kujur.